Press Release
HOOVER, Ala. — After the start was delayed 2 1/2 hours by rain earlier in the day, the LSU baseball team built a 10-0 lead over top-seeded Florida in the bottom of the sixth inning when fog rolled in just before midnight and caused the SEC Tournament quarterfinal to be suspended.
The game will resume Saturday at 10 a.m. CT.
LSU, which scored seven runs in the sixth inning before play was halted, will be batting with runners on second and third with two outs. A 10-run rule is in place for tournament games after seven innings of play.
Pregame on the LSU Sports Radio Network will begin at 9:45 a.m. Saturday morning. The resumption of the game will be televised by the SEC Network and streamed in the WatchESPN app.
The winner of the LSU-Florida game will face Arkansas in the semifinal round at approximately 3:30 p.m. CT on Saturday afternoon.
“If we can hold on and win this game, then we have to come back later in the afternoon to play again, which makes for a long day,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “But, our players can handle it; they’re young, they have a lot energy and we’ll do what we have to do.”
LSU took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning against Florida starter Jack Leftwich when rightfielder Antoine Duplantis lined an RBI single and a throwing error by Gator third baseman Jonathan India allowed two unearned runs to score.
LSU erupted for seven runs in the sixth inning against relievers Hunter McMullen and Jordan Butler. A pair of two-run singles by Duplantis and by designated hitter Daniel Cabrera highlighted an inning that also included two Florida errors, a run-scoring wild pitch and a run-scoring passed ball.
LSU starting pitcher Matthew Beck fired four shutout innings, allowing three hits with four walks and three strikeouts. Reliever Cam Sanders threw two dominating innings, retiring six of the seven batters he faced while recording four strikeouts.
Leftwich was charged with three runs – one earned – in five innings with two hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.